Do you have a baby aged 14-18 months? Please help me work this out!

DH and I are trying to work out what is going wrong (or right?) with 15mo DS's eating/sleeping. We have somewhat differing views about what is 'normal' or okay in terms of sleeping, eating, etc.

Would you mind sharing your toddler's routine (awake time, nursing, meals, naps, bed time etc)? I think it will really help us to get an idea of what other babies are doing in order to have an informed conversation.

Wakes around 7.30am & has cup of milk. Breakfast at 8.30-9ish.Snack around 10.30am. Lunch at midday. Down for nap around 12.45pm & sleeps until 3pm. Has cup of milk once up. Dinner at 5.30pm.7pm bath & bed, and sleeps through night.

Dd is 17 months and an average day is:6.30am awake7am cereal/porridge with milk. Water to drink.8.30/9am half slice of toast with jam or honey.11.30-12pm lunch. Scrambled eggs, beans. Fruit for pudding. Water.12.30/1pm - 2.30/3pm nap3pm snack. Raisins or a small milk biscuit. Water.5pm tea. Mince and tatties with peas. Yoghurt. Water.6pm bath6.45 8/9oz milk. 7pm bed. In process of trying to wean her off feeding/being held to go to sleep. Most nights will settle after a few minutes. Others dh goes in and sits with her (doesn't lift her anymore).

Not perfect but I have ds who's 3 (today!) and he dictated lots of it.

I think you do need to give up feeding on demand. Pretty soon preschool starts and routine will be a way of life. I found ds thrived once he knew what was going to happen. Definitely talk about what is happening now and what will come next. Esp when it coes to sleeping. For eg, "it's naptime now then when you wake up we'll go to the park"

7.30/8am: wake, cup of milk and bowl of either weetabix/readybrek11am: nap (anything from 1-2hrs)12.30pm: lunch (varies from day to day)2.30pm: snack (yoghurt etc)4.30/5pm: dinner6.30pm: bath7pm: a rusk mixed with some milk and a cup of milk7.15/7.30pm: bedtime

My DS is a great sleeper, but we can't let him have a nap after 2pm, if we do he won't got to bed til about 9.30/10pm that night.

You could just wait and he will eventually drop those feeds, but if you want to test cutting out another feed you could try the 11pm one.I know that feels scary because you might think that's the one that keeps him going through the night but apparently they are in deepest sleep for first half if the night, so if you try and resettle him without a feed at 11pm that could help him speed up dropping night feeds. I am totally pro bf ing but at the same time DS stopped his night bfs at 5.5 months before he even started solids, so I do believe most babies agree fine withoutit from much earlier than we think.

6.30/7 wakeDress, get breakfast (Oatibix, fruit, porridge, banana pancakes, crumpet, yogurt - any of those)10ish snack of fruit or similarMammoth nap of 2hrs at about 11.30, so lunch about 1.30 when he wakes. Usually sarnies/pasta and salad, yogurt covered raisins or fruit for pud. 3ish snack of crackers and cheese or similar6ish tea - soup, pasta, something hot plus a biccie

He's a brilliant sleeper - we have a good routine of milk, bath, teeth, story and songs on the rocking chair in his room (once he's in his PJs the lights go off so story and songs are just by the nightlight), then cuddle and into his sleeping bag, nightlight off (we leave the light on the monitor on though, the big nightlight is actually pretty bright!). And out we go. I find not dashing into his room at the slightest sound helps - he tends to shout or cough in his sleep, so if I give him five mins he'll be quiet again usually.

I love these threads! I haven't got a clue what I doing so it's really interesting to read what is the norm.

I'm basically winging it, we do have a sort of routine but it's totally been set by ds, I've had very little to do with it. The only thing I did was start a bedtime routine.

Until he was 6 months he used to go to sleep at about 7 ish but wake for a feed at about 10 o'clock ish and would have a wide-awake play time for an hour or so afterwards so there didn't seem much point in putting him to be before then.

Once he dropped that feed I started doing bath-story-bed. He took to it really quickly. He has had the odd off-night but as hubba said there's a world of difference between upset crying and just sleepy grumbling. If ever he has a winge I just leave it a minute or so then go in, lie him down, say sleep time, and leave.

The main thing for me is to get out of the room as fast as possible. If I hang around for even a second he's up and yelling. It's literally light off - story -song - put down - leg it! He then settles himself quite happily.

We sometimes have the same problem of early wakings and shortening naps seems to be helping. Also giving dinner at 5ish and then allowing her to snack throughout the evening so she goes to bed on a full tummy. We don't really follow a routine as such but below is a rough guide (DD has just turned 14 months).

At that age dgs was waking at 5.30!! Breakfast at 6-porridge,fruit and milk.nap from 9-10.30/11 then snack-usually oatcake with cream cheese and apple juice. 12.30 lunch-little bowl of cucmber and tomato [most days] with cubes of chees or pieces of ham and bread and butter. Nap 2-3.30 then meal at 5 ish and bath/milk/story/bed between 6 and 6.30.In between very very active-walked and talked early.

DD (just 19mo) dropped milk drinks around 16 months. Her day has been pretty similar since then:Between 6-7am wake upBreakfast almost immediately, or on nursery days a banana then breakfast at 7:30 at nursery9:30/10am snack11:30 lunch12/12:30-2 nap3pm snack4:30/5pm dinner6:30 snack7:00 bath8:00 bed

She doesn't sleep through the night though! On a good night, first waking 3am, on a bad night 10pm!

Sorry should have said, BF'd until 13 mo then switched to bottles of cows milk during the night, then one day she just decided she didn't want it anymore so that was the end of nighttime (and daytime) bottles. She still wakes but it's not for hunger anymore!